A Starbucks for Monaco

When I arrived at Monaco's brand spanking new Starbucks this morning, there was an empty dark grey Lamborghini parked on the sidewalk out front, idling away.  

By the time I'd pulled out my camera, its owner had left the shop with a distinctive Starbucks paper cup in his hand, slipped into his car and roared off.  I imagine this will be a common scene from now on. The idea of "take out" coffee in a paper cup doesn't  exist here. 

On Wednesday, Monaco's first ever Starbucks opened to great fanfare, ribbon cutting, and the revelation that Princess Charlene along with two local businessmen were the driving force behind it.  Hats off to them.  The café scene could use a bit of shaking up around here.

Monaco has a huge number of cafés, buvettes and tea rooms but most of them are what I'd call  "Old School."  In other words, a bit frayed around the edges, uncomfortably cramped, and frankly, unwelcoming.  On the luxe end of the spectrum are tourist haunts like the Café de Paris where for €20 you can get a weak pot of tea and watery hot chocolate served by war-weary, surly waiters.  Alas, what you're really paying for there is a luxurious perch from which to people watch.  Truth be told, for €20 it's quite the show!

Many of the old guard café and shop owners seem to harbour an innate disdain and suspicion towards foreign brands, especially those which may alter the status quo or steal patrons away from them.

So along comes a shiny new Starbucks in the bottom corner of a shiny new block of apartments, shaking things up a bit. To begin with, its interior and sprawling terrace are extravagantly spacious for the Principality where commercial real estate costs an average of €25,000- €50,000 per square metre.

When I walked in this morning to take a peek, there was pleasant music playing in the background, a lively buzz, and staff who were smiling and helpful. Such a fine sight to see that they offer soy milk as an alternative to cows' milk.  This is completely unheard of in these parts.  What a breath of modern fresh air it all is.

Since I never drink coffee, today was about the 5th time I've ever stepped foot in a Starbucks. I guess you could say I'm mostly indifferent about the brand because I've never really had the need to go into one.  All that changed this morning.  I've already made plans to go there with some friends après-skating on Wednesday to check it out.

As they say, location is everything.

UPDATE

I dragged Hubby and some curious Canadian friends to Starbucks last Wednesday afternoon, après-skating so we could share the Starbucks experience together.

When we arrived, there was a very slow moving line that snaked out the door.  When we finally got to the counter to order, it became clear why the line was moving at a snail's pace.  Suffice to say that more staff training and a sense of hustle is required.  Generally speaking, in my experience, efficient American service doesn't translate into French.

Other notes:  unfortunately they used UHT milk in their beverages but to their credit, they used soy milk that was not too sweet.  Hubby also noted that his cinnamon bun was stale.

Nonetheless, despite its faults, I think I'd go back on my own for a steamed soy milk and just to sit in a spacious, modern café and access their free WiFi.

The view from the outdoor terrace

 

Starbucks Monaco

Galerie des Jardins d'Apolline

1 Promenade Honore II

(377) 97 77 80 95

Sipping Sake in Toronto

Our trip to Toronto this summer started out in misery when the air conditioning broke in our train car and by the time we arrived we were cranky, miserable, tired, and very hungry.

Ki's vast sake menu

Hubby and I debated dinner options and when he suggested modern Japanese restaurant Ki for dinner, I threw on some lipstick and off we went.  A soothing setting and pretty food was just what we needed to change our luck and put our weekend back on track, so to speak.

Three of many in our sake tasting

It turned out to be a brilliant choice.  The setting at Ki was chic, the dinner was delicious, the service was skilled, but by far the star of the show was Michael Tremblay.  Michael is Ki's Sake Sommelier.

Hubby is a big fan of sake.  On our last trip to Tokyo, he sampled many and loved a few but it was a mixed blessing. Even though we were being served memorable sake by Japanese experts, because of the language barrier we learned nothing about them.  Sadly, our Japanese is limited to, "do you speak English?", "hello," "goodbye," "it tasted good," "excuse me," and "thank you."

So here was Michael, an English speaking sake sommelier, and he was willing and able to share his vast knowledge with us.   We absorbed both his sake and his expertise like sponges.

Izumi president Ken Valvur

During dinner, hubby sipped things both rare and delicious, all the while discussing  the merits of each.  We've never met anyone as knowledgeable nor as enthusiastic as Michael. This was amazingly good fortune.

When we were about to call it a night, Michael gave us a final sake hot tip:  the Ontario Spring Water Sake Company or "Izumi" in Japanese, was producing some excellent sake out of Toronto's Distillery District, just a kilometre or so from where we were sitting right now. 

Of course the next morning we zipped right over.

A tasting flight

When we arrived at Izumi, President and founder, Ken Valvur was there taking a break between conducting personal tours so he told us about his sake and how it's made.

Izumi started operations in the winter of 2011 but with brilliant foresight, before making his first bottle, Mr Valvur sought the advice of master award winning sake brewmaster, Yoshiko Takahashi of Nagano.  She spent time at Izumi as an advisor, training staff and setting the operation on the right path.  Japan's Miyasaka Brewing Company, who has been brewing sake since the mid-1600's, served as consultants as well.  Such a depth of expertise at the outset could only portend good things.

We hadn't booked a tour in advance so we were content to sit at the tasting bar where hubby sipped his way through a "Tasting Flight" or two, each consisting of three different sakes.

Arabashiri "free run" sake

He described each as different and delicious in subtly different ways but he had a clear favourite:  the Arabashiri #23.  

We learned that the process of making the Arabashiri #23 was different from the rest.  The secret lies in the last step of the sake making process when the mixture of rice and liquid called moromi is placed in a cloth bag. The cloth bag is then placed in a press and pressure is applied to extract the liquid from the rice.

Before the bag is compressed, the liquid that runs freely from the cloth bag beforehand is called arabashiri.

Waste not, want not.  Leftover paste from the sake making process

Perhaps it was the sake talking, but when hubby sampled the Arabashiri #23, he heard notes, not words.  He described the sake in the tasting flights as skilled solo artists but the Arabashiri #23 as a symphony:  sweet, balanced and harmonious.

Naturally, we bought a few bottles to take home and share with friends.

If you'd like to sample or buy Izumi's arabashiri, you should plan your visit to coincide with their pressing days.  It's unpasturized and has a short shelf life so tempus fugit and follow their twitter feed. 
 

There was something for both of us at Izumi.  Before we left, I poked around the sake cooler and discovered little containers of sake kasu which is the ground, fermented,  boozy rice paste left over from pressing the maromi mixture.  I bought some to take home and play with in the kitchen.

When our weekend began so badly we thought that all was lost.  So Michael and Ken, thank you for resuscitating it with sake.

The tasting bar